


The Incidental Terrors of Being Bilingual

by SilverSupa



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Is this just an excuse to compile a bunch of my language headcanons?, Languages and Linguistics, Shenanigans in its purest form!, This is pure shenanigans, Yes it Is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25814011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverSupa/pseuds/SilverSupa
Summary: Diana has been taking Japanese lessons, seeking the opportunity to counter her lovely girlfriend's teasing with a few, choice words. Unfortunately for both her and Akko, she finds that certain phrases are WILDLY more intimate when said in one's native tongue...
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 206
Kudos: 602





	1. Diana Runs Her Fancy Mouth

Diana never would’ve imagined that her favorite thing about being out and having a girlfriend was having someone to just…be silly with.

They were outside the cafeteria vestibule, on the grass, laying together without a care in the world. Not long ago, she might’ve been embarrassed to be so public with a relationship, though pleasantly, no one seemed to care as much as her fears once told her. The other witch students walking past paid them no mind, focused more on their final exams for the semester. Diana felt free to simply shirk responsibilities with her girlfriend for as long as the day would allow.

And that was _certainly_ never a sentence she thought could’ve applied to her. She chuckled behind her hand politely as Akko finished her story, much to the other girl’s delight.

“Oh my god! Did you just laugh?”

“What can I say? I enjoy the way you tell stories. It's charming.”

Akko shook her head. “It’s not just that! Diana Cavendish just laughed at something I said?”

“You say that as though it’s a personal victory for you.”

“It is!” Akko leaned forward on the blanket. “I _love_ how your laugh sounds!”

Diana turned away and acting as though her cheeks weren’t taking on a pleasant, pinkish hue. It was such a childish thing to take notice of, and yet, the word stuck out like a signal flare. Akko was rather reckless with that word. _Love._

“...Surely I...that is, I _do_ maintain a sense of humor, obviously. It’s not as though this is the first time I’ve ever expressed amusement around you.”

The way she phrased it seemed to do nothing but egg Akko on further. “But I _never_ get to hear you laugh! It’s so pretty!”

“It’s…hardly that rare an occurrence…at least, especially not when I’m with….”

She trailed off, which was quite unlike her to do. They had only been dating a short while, and nothing had yet truly changed between them (aside from the occasional handholding.) But she felt she laughed so much more since their first date than she ever had before. She heard the word _Love_ more from Akko than she had anywhere else. And years and years’ worth of praise and platitudes never sounded quite as sweet as Akko’s playful teasing.

She silently squeezed Akko’s hand, a part of her wishing she had as much confidence in her words as she did her actions. 

The soft glaze in her red eyes, peering down where their skin touched, said she understood all the words Diana left unspoken. But the smirk to her lips said she planned to ruin it anyway.

“...you know something, Diana?” Akko hugged a knee to her chest, laying her cheek atop it. “You can be such a _sap_ sometimes!”

“And here I mistakenly believed I could enjoy a charming holiday out, free from judgmental insults to my sensitive character. I suppose we all must learn to the contrary eventually.”

“Wh- hey! Don’t start using all those big words just because I called you out!”

“None of those words are that big.”

“That’s not what I mean! Your English always gets so... _formal_ when you’re flustered! It makes it hard to keep up with you sometimes- I think you do it to me on purpose!”

Diana, now _actually_ feeling called out, did not agree. As far as she saw, her habit for verbosity was simply instinctual, and her choice in vocabulary was not indicative nor even related to her current emotional state at any given time. Especially not in regards to the ill-conceived concept that it might delve into purple prose at a higher frequency around her current company.

...All that being said, however, she hadn’t quite considered before now how her...nervous reflex might affect someone who only spoke English as a second language. Her eyes turned back to Akko.

“Would you prefer I say it in Japanese?”

And at that, Akko’s face lit up. She lifted her head off her knee. “Oh wow, I almost forgot you were still doing that! I don’t think I’ve heard you even mention it for like a week, I was worried you gave up! How’s it going so far? Have you learned any other new phrases?”

Akko’s enthusiasm was certainly welcome. And indeed, that was largely the reason Diana had taken it upon herself to pick it up in her free time, despite the complexity of an entirely new language. It was far different than learning one spoken by Familiars, like the ones taught at Luna Nova, and far more complex in terms of vocabulary and structure. 

“It’s been...acceptable,” Diana said. “I still require more experience, though I believe my lessons are coming along quite briskly. I’m certain once classes are over completely, I’ll have more time to study.”

“I can teach you if you want!”

“No, no. I believe it would be far more rewarding to learn myself. I wouldn’t wish to trouble you with it.”

“Well, if anyone can do it-!” Akko shrugged. “Just be glad you don’t have to learn our writing system. I bet even _you_ would have a heck of a time with that!”

She tried to think of a nice phrase to respond with, though was unable to summon one she was reasonably confident in speaking aloud. Perhaps still desiring the brownie points for trying, she settled with a good old; “ _Arigatou gozaimasu_.”

Akko pinched up her nose and spoke in the most nasally approximation of Diana’s English accent she could do. “Are-e- _got_ -toe. That’s you, that’s how you sound.”

“Pardon me for not being fluent.” Diana said dryly.

“It’s cute!” Akko reassured her. “Plus, do you have any idea how refreshing it is to have something you’re actually _bad_ at? It’s like you’re a real human being or something.”

“I…!” Diana’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve only been studying for five weeks! It’s hardly fair to call me bad.”

“It’s not supposed to be fair. It’s me, finally getting one over on my rival!”

“I can still take this blanket and leave, you know.”

Akko sucked in a deep breath. “ _Hwut-tashhy wah~!_ “

She couldn’t finish before breaking down into snickers. And despite her wounded pride, and the fact she was actively being mocked right now, Diana could not help but join in.

This was what she meant by having someone to be silly with. Someone she could just joke around with until they were both breathless. Who fell against her shoulder when her laughter made it too hard to sit up straight. It was something she never had before, and somehow felt like something she could not live without.

Akko wheezed, struggling to right herself. “O-okay! Okay! If...if it makes you feel any better, you’re better than I was when I was five weeks in!”

“So, I’m on par with an infant. Truly, your compliments flatter me.”

“Aww, you know I love you, Diana!”

Ah. That word again. 

Diana felt ridiculous for blushing. She was not a child. Those three little words should not make her feel so...gooey inside, especially since Akko was only saying it casually. It was not even in that romantic of a context, and yet, here she was, flustered.

Perhaps a decade of high stakes emotional repression made it vexing for her to admit such casual intimacy felt far more reaffirming than anything she had ever allowed herself, and it lit a fire inside her she did not know how to contain to a socially acceptable degree, leaving her feel underprepared. That, or she really was just super gay.

So, she decided. She wanted to return the favor. Right here and now. If this wonderful girl could make her feel so happy with nothing but casual utterances of affection, then Diana wanted the same for _her_.

And luckily, she had been studying this too. There had been one statement she thought would be especially prudent to learn, and had looked it up out of curiosity only two days into her lessons. Because she wanted there to be no ambiguity in their relationship, she wanted the confidence to say it out loud…

But mostly, she wanted to see how Akko would lose her mind if she said the phrase right. That was about 70% of her reasoning.

Diana leaned forward on the blanket. Trying to keep it casual, but also trying not to look like she was having _too_ much fun. “...I feel the same, you know.”

“Hm?”

“About you, Akko. It really was fortuitous that you invited me out today. Because there’s something I have just been _aching_ to tell you.”

Akko leaned forward as well, the anticipation in her eyes clear as day. “You’re being sappy again! What do you wanna say? Is it more of your Japanese?”

Diana nodded slyly. “It is. It’s a truly great and terrible secret that I simply must share. If you’ll indulge me, of course.”

“Of course! I promise I won’t make fun of your accent! Mostly.”

“Oh? Then perhaps I should refrain. After all, something like this can certainly wait for as long as need be. Even if I have to wait for that one, singular, perfect time…no matter how long it takes…”

Akko’s cheek puffed out in a dry pout. “Diana! Stop teasing and just spit it out already! I wanna hear!”

Diana relished her impatience a moment longer. She leaned against her elbow, with a light, teasing smile, and at last said;

“ _Ai shiteru_.”

And then Akko fell over.

The moment that final syllable passed, the Japanese witch’s hand slipped on the blanket and gave way so that her face could be filled with Luna Nova’s prestigiously tended lawn. She scrambled upwards before Diana could so much as blink, blushing deeper and redder than Diana had ever seen. 

“D-Diana?! What…?”

“What?”

It quickly became apparent that looking directly at her was too much for Akko to handle. Her eyes fell to her lap. Alongside a peculiar raise of her eyebrows, she sucked in her lips a moment before speaking.

“I…” Akko stuttered. “...w-where did you... _learn_ that, exactly?”

Diana blinked. This was not the reaction she was expecting. “Oh, well, I have shown you my Japanese to English dictionary before, haven’t I? I was told that was the translation. Did I mispronounce it? I’m-”

“No! No no no, you...y-you _said_ it right, all right! All the words, I mean. Like...in that sense, it was totally...totally...” 

She peeked back up, only to meet the blue of Diana’s eyes and duck back down. She let out a stilted, booming laugh that cut through the silence without any sort of subtlety.

“Oh gosh…that was…! Hee, that was really unexpected. I was not ready for that. Ohhh boy.”

“...It does just mean ‘I love you’ doesn’t it?” Diana asked. “Was that part correct?”

Akko faked an interest in the grass. “Uh.”

“O-oh. Was it...was it too soon for me to say that? I just assumed since...well, since we’re dating after all, and you had just said it earlier, so I believed it would be fine for me to…did I misunderstand...?”

“ _Uh_.” Akko swallowed hard. “I don’t know how to answer that?”

Diana’s brows knitted together. In all the time they had known each other, she had never seen Akko act like _this_. She had seen her frazzled and flustered, Akko got into trouble about once a week and rarely handled it calmly. But she never saw it quite to this degree. And never to her.

Surely it should’ve been fine, right? _Everyone_ knew the feelings between them were mutual, even if Diana didn’t always vocalize it. She didn’t believe she had jumped the gun, because she figured Akko already knew how she felt. Was she...wrong? Did Akko not…?

Or perhaps, was hearing it in her native tongue overstepping her boundaries, somehow? It could very well be culturally insensitive. She really wanted to press the issue. But it was clear that Akko didn’t want to discuss it, so how Diana personally felt was irrelevant. 

She gently touched Akko’s arm. “I was only teasing, Akko. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’ll...refrain from speaking such things in the future.”

“W-wait! Wait wait, no! It wasn’t that it was offensive or anything! It’s just that I’m...I’m not…”

Diana’s chest clenched. “You’re not…?”

“Not like that!” Akko butt in quickly. “I’m not saying that I…! That...you...and me…aren’t...like I’m not _not_ saying how I feel, at least about _that!_ ”

“...Not not?

“W-who’s there? Good one, me!” Akko forced herself to laugh again. “Anyway! There’s no need to apologize! I should probably stop talking now too anyway! It’s all totally fine!”

“I’m not...certain I follow.”

“And I _really_ don’t know if I can explain it right now!” 

Akko rubbed at the back of her neck, and Diana could finally see her expressions fully. The whites of her eyes dominated her face, like two eggs dropped onto a red frying pan. 

“L-look, just forget it, it’s...it’s nothing,” Akko’s normally bright smile came out weak and shaky. “You don’t need to feel bad about anything, and you especially don’t need to give up on learning this stuff! It’s...just not really a _thing_ you say in my language, that’s all!”

Diana looked at her quizzically. She couldn’t deny that the student within her _really_ wanted to know, either what she did wrong or what the better phrase would be, even if the rest of her knew it was not the immediate issue. 

She squeezed Akko’s hand, in a silent apology. 

Evidently, _this_ was not the correct answer either. 

Akko’s face almost literally erupted. “Waow, would you look at the time?!” She said, gazing intently at the naked skin on the inside of her wrist. “It’s...it’s getting to be…! Well, you know how it is! I...I’ll see you later, it was a really lovely date, you’re the best _bye!_ ”

She sprung upwards, and shot off like a bolt from the Shiny Arc, albeit with much less grace and in much less of a straight line. Diana could only sit there in silence as Akko skidded around the corner of the building and out of sight.

That had felt like a lot of mixed signals. 

And...if anything, Diana had assumed she would’ve been happier. Didn’t Akko reciprocate her feelings? Had it been the wrong time? Did she want something grander, than just a quiet, goofy chat outside her school? Where had she misjudged?

Had Diana not been a Cavendish, she might’ve sighed. She began to fold the blanket, suddenly conscious of the other students walking about once more. And it had been such a nice date too, before she opened her mouth...

~~

Akko burst into the Red Team’s shared dorm room and slammed the door shut behind her, clutching her chest as steam came out her ears. 

No way.

There was no way that had just happened. She refused to believe that was actually what Diana said. It kept replaying in her mind over and over, but she _still_ didn’t believe that just happened. 

Diana had no clue. The smartest witch in school, her girlfriend, the most capable, most careful person she ever met, and she really had no clue. She really just came out and said... _that._ Without a single idea of what it actually, literally meant. 

No way, no way.

And Akko put her foot in her mouth, babbling like an idiot. Was she overreacting? Had she already overreacted? She didn’t know. She couldn’t think straight, in any sense of the word.

“Guys!” Akko declared to her roommates. “Guys, I’m pretty sure I’m having a crisis right now, and I could _really_ use some help in figuring it out.”

Two pairs of eyes stared back at her. It was not, in fact, Lotte and Sucy, but rather, Lotte and Barbara. 

They were facing each other on the room’s two desk chairs, copies of their books in their hands, and looking at her like _she_ was the one intruding. Which was just perfect, because if there was one person Akko wanted to vent to right now, it was someone who bullied her in Diana’s honor.

“...But just a little one,” Akko lied. “Why’s Barbara in our room? And where’s Sucy?”

“We’re talking about NightFall,” Lotte explained. “And...Sucy left because Barbara came to talk about NightFall. B-but what’s with you? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah,” Barbara leered at her. “What’d you do this time, Akko?”

“ _I_ didn’t do anything! It was-!”

The scene played through her mind again. That soft, tender way Diana had been looking at her. The shadows of her hair casting waves over her skin. The way her lips parted, and pursed, as it was spoken into existence.

 _Aishiteru_.

Akko slapped her hands over her face, as if trying to smack the image out of her head. It was impossible to say if she was embarrassed for herself or for Diana or both. 

Lotte waved her hands placatingly. “Um...let’s give her a little space, Barbara,” she turned back to the distressed young witch. “Akko, I’m...I’m sure whatever happened, you can fix it, okay?”

“But it wasn’t _me_ this time!” She wailed. “I’m innocent! It was Diana, I swear!”

Barbara perked up at the mention of gossip relating to the Diana Cavendish. Barbara had never exactly been _supportive_ of her roommate dating Akko, but she had taken it better than Hannah did, and the hopeless gossip in her was invested in where it was going to go. Far, far too invested.

“Ooh, how bad did you screw it up with her now? I’ll bet you did something _really_ embarrassing!

Akko resisted the urge to stamp her foot. “I-!”

And again, the scene played through her head. Every syllable, every breath she took. The gentle, clueless expression. Her lashes batting. The way she leaned. That word. _That word._

It was too much to take. She couldn’t do this looking at Diana’s roommate.

So she stepped in the small space between the chairs so that she physically could not see her. Barbara made an indignant noise, which Akko pointedly ignored.

“So, we were...w-we were sitting together outside, right?” Akko explained to Lotte. “And we were talking about languages and...whatever, and...and Lotte! Diana said she loved me!”

“Aww,” Lotte beamed.

Behind her, Barbara folded her arms, unimpressed. “So? You’re dating, who cares? Are you really going to make a whole stupid thing out of your girlfriend saying she loves you?

“No, it’s not the same thing, you guys! She...she said it in _Japanese!_ ”

“That’s so romantic!” Lotte swooned. “She learned how to say it just so she could make the most honest confession possible! She put in so much effort just for the sake of bearing her heart to you! What did you say? Did you confess back?

“It’s not like that! I mean, yeah she literally said I love you, but that’s not what she _actually_ said! I- I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s not the same word!”

Barbara moved from her seat, unsatisfied with Akko’s backside filling up her view. 

“Well, that explains all the weird words she’s been trying to pronounce in the middle of the night.” She mused, largely to herself. “I swear, you two always make a huge _deal_ out of what the other one says every week. Can’t one of you just have a gay panic without involving us?”

Akko glared. As if she was trying to involve Barbara in the first place. Besides, it’s not like she could have understood, as an English speaker. Where was Sucy and her Filipino when Akko might’ve actually needed her?

“Lotte,” Akko turned back. “I’m not really good with your language yet. Isn’t there a couple different ways to say I love you in Finnish?”

“Well, it depends on the context, and who you’re talking-”

Lotte cut herself off with a sharp gasp. 

“ _Wait_. Oh no. Is this...is this like a _rakastan_ kind of thing?”

“I think?” Akko looked at the bespectacled girl’s grave expression, and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like it’s probably close enough. So imagine Diana, sitting with me outside, and then saying that like super casually, and just...out of nowhere! That’s literally what happened to me out there!”

Lotte templed her fingers over her mouth and just sort of moaned. The kind of sympathetic, cringing moan one does when confronted with a painful case of second hand embarrassment.

“Oh Akko...oh noooo.”

“I know!”

“She _didn’t_.” 

“She did! And I don’t know what to do about it!”

“You gotta tell her. You _have_ to tell her.” She rubbed at her eyes behind her glasses. “Oh no…”

“B-but...but how?! I can’t just go _talking_ to her after that! I literally just ran away from her, she’s gonna think I’m an idiot if I try to explain it! How am I supposed to respond when it’s Diana saying something stupid to me?”

“But think about how bad it’s going to be if you don’t! What if she _keeps_ saying it? Because I’m just...I’m just imagining someone saying something like that to me, but with _other_ Finns around to hear it…”

The scene immediately began replaying in Akko’s head. She pinched her eyes shut, praying she could cut it off before it started.

“ _Stop!_ Don’t say that!” 

But it was too late. It played anyway, except now they were in the Kagari household. Diana was saying it in front of her parents. Diana, cluelessly, was _saying it_. In front of her parents. 

_Aishiteru_.

Akko immediately did the second hand embarrassment groan too. She and Lotte did it in unison this time, because some feelings transcended both cultures and tongues, like the Tower of Babel but for cringe.

Barbara, who was still unfortunately here, was looking at them like they were another species entirely. “What just happened here? What are you two even talking about?”

Lotte turned to Barbara. “It’s intimate.”

“It’s _really_ intimate.” Akko agreed.

“Okay? How intimate is _really_ intimate?”

“I think, maybe the best way to explain it is...do you remember in volume 165? Right before the final battle, where he kisses her knuckles and says his life is hers for the taking...?”

Akko had no idea what that meant, but it seemed to work well enough for the young Englishwoman. Barbara, totally scandalized, covering her mouth in utter shock, whipped to face Akko.

“No!” She gasped. “ _That_ intimate?!

Akko planted her hands on her hips. “Now do you get why I’m freaking out?”

“Well…!” Barbara’s hands ran wild through her dark hair, her eyes desperately searching for an explanation. “Well...Well, there’s no _way_ someone like Diana Cavendish would say something like that on purpose!”

“Thank you!”

“Like, obviously Diana didn’t mean it!”

“Wh-” Akko grimaced. “Hey.”

“She...she’s obviously making a big mistake! It’s so unlike her! Like if she _actually_ knew what she was saying, she would never make such a dumb-!

Lotte tapped Barbara’s shoulder. “I think she gets the point, Babs…”

Barbara continued her internal crisis about the idea of Diana Cavendish engaging in an active love life, for one reason or another, while Lotte came forward to comfort her best friend.

“Well...how do you feel about it, Akko?”

“How do I _feel?_ ”

She paused, having not actually stopped to analyze her feelings at all up to this point. She really was not sure, but she felt awkward. Both for herself, and for Diana. It was easy to think of Atsuko as a very flighty, overly romantic person, but truth be told, even she had some cultural limits ingrained within her.

She had to. Part of speaking multiple languages was knowing what words translated and what ones just...didn’t. And _Aishiteru_ was...the big one. It was the one you just don’t say in public. 

At all. 

Ever.

You know what was nice about using the word _Love?_ So many less rules. The makers of English had really condensed all those awkward, squishy feelings into one, convenient word, and it was so fantastic, in Akko’s opinion. 

It could be really romantic, or it could be really casual. You could be talking about food or your dad or your actual soulmate, and you didn’t even have to change words. You were actually allowed to _use_ it. And it was not the same as what Diana had said to her.

Which meant (and it pissed her off to no end to even _think_ this) when Diana said she loved her, in the absolute most heartachingly tender way possible, it made it obvious she really didn’t mean it. Because simply put, she couldn’t. 

But she might.

But she obviously didn’t. 

But she potentially-

Akko threw back her head, letting the guttural groan escape unhindered. “Aughh, this is so unfair! Why did she have to say it like that?! What am I supposed to _say_ to her?!”

“You’re going to need to think of something,” Lotte said. “Either way, she’s going to expect an answer…”

“Isn’t there any way I can explain this to her without totally embarrassing Diana? If she gives up on learning Japanese because of something like this…”

Barbara thought for a moment. “Knowing her? Not a chance.”

Akko flopped down on her bed with a long, sad sigh. The thought of shaming Diana into giving up learning this new language, something she had sounded legitimately excited about, made her feel rotten to the core. She had been so closed off for so many years, and Akko had _never_ seen her this happy. 

If only she had said it in English. Akko had put years of effort into learning it, it would’ve been nice if they had served her when she actually needed them most. If Diana had said “I Love You” in clear English, then at least Akko could have-

She blinked. 

And then she sat up from her bed so fast she smacked her head into Lotte’s bunk. Not that she was in any mindset to actually care. With her hand rubbing her head, she cried out once more.

“Oh my god, Diana said she _loves_ me!”

Barbara looked at her like she was stupid, and to be fair, in this case Akko couldn’t quite blame her. She had been so focused on what Diana said wrong, she hadn’t even stopped to consider that this was a confession. The first time someone had confessed their feelings to her. And it was _Diana_. Diana said she loved her, kind of.

The blush returned to its spot on her face. “W-what should I do about _that_ part? I mean, I gotta give her an answer, right? She’s going to want me to answer her, and I don’t know how I feel!”

Barbara squinted at her. “Seriously? You two hang out constantly. You were hanging out with each other more than Lotte and Sucy even _before_ the stupid missile, and you don’t know how to feel?”

“Yeah, because I need to answer her confession while _also_ telling her it was the wrong confession. And I need to do it in a way that doesn’t make her any more upset than she’s going to be when I tell her she’s wrong! How in the world am I supposed to do all that at once?”

Lotte and Barbara shared a look. A girl in love needed an honest response to a heartfelt, but misspoken confession. Something that communicated romance and understanding. And Akko asked _them._

With their minds filled with the steamy and tender teachings of NightFall, they smiled in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is something I largely wrote as stress relief while working on a few bigger projects, and so it’s REALLY going to be dumb. Dumb in a fun way, but like…next chapter, Diana is going to talk to the weeb ninja girl from the video game.


	2. Diana Comes to a Consensus

Diana, as part of her evening duties, usually made a quick patrol around the academy grounds. She’d pace the halls, remind students of proper conduct, ensure rules were being followed, and just be a positive presence on campus at the behest of the professors, who were busy with final exams at this time of the year.

She was usually proud to do it. Tonight, her heart wasn’t in it.

Because her anxiety was gnawing at said heart like it was a Poundland dog toy made of spikes and feelings.

She stopped in front of the entryway to the West Dorms, for the third time that hour alone. She didn’t dare set foot inside. How could she possibly ask proper behavior of others when she had absolutely offended Akko…somehow? Yes, Akko claimed it was fine, but a little mistake didn’t garner a reaction like that.

Diana might not have the Japanese girl’s (somewhat inexplicable) skill with language, but she wasn’t _stupid_. She had spent years practicing perfect diction. She was groomed to know the power of words, and the dangers of misplacing them. Always biting her tongue, always maintaining that perfect balance of politeness and control. And the _one_ time she had let herself slip and be silly…

She turned away from the West Dorms, deciding it would be utterly disreputable to even speak to Akko until she knew what she was talking about. What in heaven’s name had she actually _said_ and why could no one tell her?

The dictionary told her the exact words. The grammar booklets told her she pronounced them perfectly. She checked, and checked, and checked, until the English and the Kanji and the Kana blended together on the page into blithering word goop, full of definitions and diacritical marks signifying nothing.

She stopped at the stairwell, biting her lip at the sight of the West Dorms entryway, before pacing back. Computers and cellular devices were still banned from academy grounds on weekdays, so it’s not like she could look it up. But if she used a translator spell, she might be able to temporarily perfect Japanese.

Which, she realized, wouldn’t suddenly imbue her with the cultural meanings. And she had no desire to make a _bigger_ fool of herself tonight. Even though she desperately wanted to talk to Akko again. She just wanted the certainty.

As she mulled over the impossible task of fixing a mistake she couldn’t even begin to identify, she was ripped from her ruminations by rough sensation across her shoulders. Amanda grinned broadly, pulling Diana into some manner of boisterous half-hug she hadn’t asked for. Jasminka trailed behind her, smiling far more sweetly.

“Yo, Diana!” Amanda said, “We were _just_ fixin’ to get something from the cafeteria!”

She spoke in that ever-unidentifiable, All-American accent of hers, Texan phrases but given a New Yorker flair. If Diana’s mind wasn’t so completely preoccupied right now, she might’ve wondered where she was actually born.

“Want to come?” Jasminka’s voice was a singsong, concise but melodic. “It will be just us and Constanze tonight. She’s finishing her last exam!”

“Yeah! If you’re not _busy_ out here, that is!”

Ah. So they had been watching. They saw her pacing. How disreputable.

Diana removed the offending limb from her shoulder. “…I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. But I’m sure you three will have a lovely time regardless.”

“Not hungry…?”

Diana’s face conveyed nothing but practiced stoicism. “I have far too many matters of my own to deal with. So, by all means, enjoy yourselves at dinner. Just be sure to behave as is expected of a witch of our caliber, Miss O’Neill.”

Rather coldly, she brushed past the two and continued on her “patrol”, leaving a disappointed Jasminka staring at the back of her head. A nagging part of her noted it was rather harsh of her to act like this. But they were far more _Akko’s_ friends than her own. And besides, their…touchiness felt miserably smothering right about now.

Not that her unsaid reasoning, nor her bluntness, impressed Amanda in any sort of way. It never did. She folded her arms behind her head and coolly matched Diana’s pace.

“Miss O’Neill, huh?” Amanda scoffed. “Been a hot minute since y’all called me _that_ to my face.”

Jasminka hurried to catch up with the two of them. “Be nice…!”

“I’m just saying!” Amanda shrugged. “What happened to us hangin’ out? It’s like a pre-Akko Diana Cavendish, all repressed and mopey.”

Diana missed a step. “A…a pre-? What does that even-?”

“She’s trying to ask you what’s wrong!” Jasminka translated. “Just in her own way!”

“Don’t go puttin’ words in my mouth.” Amanda said, not actually denying the implication. “Anyway, I dunno, I’m just so bored right now. Akko’s been cooped up all day, and I figured since you were just pacin’ back and forth here…”

“All day…?”

Guilt stabbed through Diana’s gut. Had Akko really taken it that badly?

It must’ve meant something wildly different in the context of Japanese. Must have. What if she had used the wrong form? What if, perhaps, the more literal meaning of _Love_ in the case she used it was _not_ romantic, but rather, it meant “to greatly enjoy”, as in regarding some kind of action-verb or noun?

Oh Beatrix help her, if she had linguistically objectified Akko...

“Seriously, Cavendish,” Amanda nudged into her shoulder as she walked by her side. “Is something eatin’ at you today or what?”

It was exceedingly rare to see such sincerity in Amanda’s expression. And of the seven of them, Jasminka was one of the few she _knew_ wouldn’t hold this against her. But Diana had a weird thing about personal debts, and she felt unsure of the proper distance between them and herself. She hadn’t ever done anything to earn their kindness. It wouldn’t be right of her to burden them with her problems.

So why, she wondered, did she allow the words to spill from her lips anyway?

“It’s…likely my fault,” she admitted. “I’m the one who made Akko upset.”

Jasminka frowned. “You were fighting again…?”

“Of course not. It was just an accident but…it’s still my fault regardless. I had a bad encounter with the language barrier. I…I’m certain I said something _awful_ to her, and I don’t even know what. But I do know that it’s because of me.”’

It took considerable effort to look up at their reactions. Out of loyalty to their friend, they had every right to be angry with her. But instead, Jasminka gently touched her arm.

“Aw, c’mon,” Amanda genuinely smiled her. “It’s _Akko,_ ain’t it? I’m sure she’s not gonna kill you over a mistake, ya drama queen.”

Jasminka nodded in solidarity. She understood. A native Russian speaker, with a mute German and a fast-talking girl with an eccentric mix of American vernaculars? _Of course_ she understood. And the Green Team offered no reassurances that Diana was too good to make a mistake. No false pretenses or promises. Just the frank acknowledgment she had messed up, and they would help her fix it.

That was…nice. Different, but nice.

“Did you say sorry?” Jasminka continued on.

“I tried, at any rate.” Diana explained, her voice slightly fuller. “But I could hardly blame her for not accepting it. You know how galling it is to have someone ask your forgiveness when they don’t know what they’re even sorry for. And I don’t want her to think I’m disrespecting her or her culture.”

“Well, that’s a bit dramatic,” Amanda unfolded her arms.

“…Perhaps. But I wanted to impress her. She’s…” Diana chewed on her lip. “I-in any case, I don’t suppose either of you know Japanese? I would _very_ much appreciate a translator right now.”

“English’s all I got.” Amanda said. “Is Akko really that cheesed at you? What’d you even say, anyway?”

“I _thought_ I was expressing my fondness to her.”

There was a pregnant pause. Amanda’s brow quirked upwards.

“…fondness? As in…?”

Diana had to look away for this part. “I…attempted to say… _I Love You_. In h-hindsight, I don’t know what I was thinking. I thought she might like it if it was in her native tongue, but whatever came out was…hurtful somehow, because as soon as I said it, she just turned red. She refused to even speak to me, and then she left. And if I only understood how to speak her language I could’ve…”

Amanda’s other brow crept higher and higher, until it was on level with the first.

“And please, don’t mistake my intentions. The moment I know how to fix this, I fully intend to apologize properly. But I just…can’t help but wonder if Akko’s going to _hate_ me for-”

Jasminka snorted so hard it sounded like a lawnmower dying inside her mouth.

“B-Be nice, Amanda…” Her hands balled into fists in an attempt to keep her voice steady, “be nice…” Amanda hadn’t even begun to say anything, but the pure, unadulterated disbelief in her eyes was somehow incredibly loud.

Diana was stricken. “What? What’s so…?”

“Are you kiddin’ me?” Amanda drawled. Far more Texan than New Yorker. “ _That’s_ what’s got you so mopey?”

“I haven’t even finished explaining.”

“You got the wildest coping mechanisms for someone who’s supposed to be smart, y’know?” Amanda said. “Bless your heart.”

“E-ex _cuse_ me?”

Jasminka shook her head. “ _Nye_ \- no! No.” She pinched her lips shut and coughed, both trying to control herself and to find the words. “S-sorry for laughing. Sorry. But…w-well…you should probably go…ask her. It sounded a little funny when you said that, that’s all…”

“And as I just said, I don’t want to risk offending her further. Obviously, the words don’t mean what I think they mean, so it stands to reason it’s _some_ kind of faux-pas in Japanese. She was _visibly_ uncomfortable with it. I know I’m not being dramatic.”

Amanda narrowed her eyes. “You literally hang out with Akko more than anyone else. You are so constantly together, her own roommates see her less than you. And you’re askin’ us if this one thing you said, on accident, is gonna make Akko, your _girlfriend_ mind you, hate your guts.”

Diana, acting of purely her own accord, chose not to dignify that statement with a formal response, because anything could’ve sounded idiotic when said with _that_ tone of voice.

Amanda had the audacity to roll her eyes at her, and then pulled her into another brazen half-hug. “Di, seriously. You’re annoying, but you’re cool. Sometimes. So I’m just gonna say, listen to Jasna. Because I’m hungry, so I’m about to dip. And stop actin’ tough and go talk to your girl.”

“But what-?”

“Dippin’!”

With that, she swatted Diana’s shoulder, hard, and was off to the cafeteria, muttering into her hand all the way.

The once proud prodigy, feeling profoundly lost, turned to Jasminka for any sort of translation, literal or cultural. And the other witch stood steadfast. Slightly less than apologetic than she probably meant to be, but still here to support Diana in spite of that.

“Akko doesn’t hate you, silly.” Jasminka’s words were succinct and inarguable. Diana did anyway.

“And what if it means something… _sordid_ in Japanese?” She crossed her arms. “Neither of you nor Amanda know the language, so I fail to see why you two found this all so amusing. How could you possibly say that with any degree of certainty?”

Jasminka just gently tilted her head. “…You should eat with us. It will help clear your head.”

It did not initially seem like an answer, but she certainly made it sound like one. She walked away, slow enough for a friend to potentially follow and talk further with her. But Diana declined, leaving her with the familiar sting of loneliness.

(And a smaller sting in her arm.)

Maybe they were right. Not about talking to Akko, for reasons that were self-evident. But perhaps she _was_ falling back on old habits, getting too caught up in her own head to look at the problem clearly. If her own, private resources were too limited to solve this, but there was a whole school of knowledge surrounding her she could reference.

There was one other Japanese speaker she knew of on campus. It went against her better judgement, but the thought of Akko, alone and miserable in her room, drove her forward. It wouldn’t help her understand how she _felt_ , but it would explain her reaction, at any rate. So, it’s not like it could hurt to run an innocent question by her. To better understand all the things Akko didn’t say.

To Marianne, the self-proclaimed “ninja witch”.

~~

At this time in the evening, Marianne was likely playing around with the Cultural Society, the one that the professors kept attempting to rein in with little success. As soon as Diana was confident students weren’t misbehaving in the academy halls (and it was a quiet night) she veered off-route to Luna Nova Tower.

Marianne was not actually Japanese. She was French. But everyone in the academy knew she spoke Japanese because Marianne was constantly telling people that she did. She seemed…invested in the culture. Far, far too invested.

Likely why she, along with her roommate Jeanne, had formed the club, and why they held it outside the Tower to begin with. Most professors didn’t bother to patrol so far. But Diana had always been dutiful with her work, so she was familiar with their antics by now.

She was unsurprised to find them sitting outside the Tower after curfew, and in their ridiculous costumes again. Marianne in her “ninja garb”, with her scarf/mask hanging from her neck, and Jeanne in her shiny metal plate armor, meticulously modeled after European knights.

Jeanne was eagerly listening as Mari demonstrated how to make paper ninja stars. One did not get the sense she was there for the educational value.

“Even if you fold them tightly, they still aren’t as effective as the real thing,” Mari explained. “But if you take the spell _you_ use to turn your wand into your blade, and you enhance these with it-”

“Marianne.” Diana planted her hands on her hips. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Tch-! D-Diana!”

Mari dropped the stars, and Jeanne looked away with a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks. Diana really had been hoping to catch Marianne alone, rather than the two of them flaunting the dress code for the sixth (6) time. A year or so ago, she wouldn’t have given it a second thought. However…with Jeanne’s expression…

“…I shall cut you a deal. I’d like your assistance in a matter relating to your proficiency in the Japanese language. In exchange, I might be inclined to forget anything I might’ve seen here tonight. And I do mean anything.”

It left little alternative. Mari pulled her scarf over her nose, possibly in an attempt to look cool. She nodded, with a peculiarly emphasized grunt.

Jeanne began to get up. “Alright! If you don’t need me, I’ll just...just be going then. I’ll talk to you later, Mari! You two have a nice-!”

“I would recommend against returning to your room while still wearing that.”

Jeanne chuckled. “R-right. Well…I mean, the spell wears off in an hour, so…”

Her armor clinked as she sat right back down. Why she didn’t just use the _Vestesse_ spell to transform her clothing, Diana would never know.

“S-so!” Mari spoke with a brazen false confidence, enunciating like a telenovel character. “You…have no need of my ninjitsu then? Purely my language skills?”

Diana nodded shortly. “I was speaking to Akko regarding a few topics, and I require a second opinion, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Ahh, Kagari-senpai. Continue!”

“Don’t call her that. In any case, what do you know about...specific, contextual verb cases in Japanese? Because I ran into a small curiosity regarding my grammatical structure, especially as it relates to the proper places to _use_ such specific verb cases, and I believe your expertise could provide some much-needed clarification.”

Mari stared at her for a very long moment. She looked down at her boots. And then she looked back up at Diana. 

“Gee, Diana. Maybe you should ask Akko about that kind of thing?”

“Look, if you know the language, then I believe you should know what I’m referring to, even if not by name. And you _do_ know the language, correct?”

“Indeed! I have spent four years studying the art of the Japanese language.” Mari clenched her fist, the leather of her fingerless gloves creaking dramatically. “I have memorized _so_ many OPs…”

Whatever _that_ meant.

Diana weighed her words very carefully. She would not let her (usually much more controllable) feelings ruin yet another conversation of hers. “…We were...discussing interests, Akko and I.” She decided on at last. “Interests which may or may not be mutual, but…that’s beside the point. I guess certain aspects of how to express…admiration in her native tongue gave me pause.”

Mari seemed confused. “Are you…asking me to teach you how to say you like something in Japanese?”

Diana’s pride spoke before her brain did. “No, I know the words. I need no teaching, thank you. But…well, obviously, a fluent speaker knows there’s different verbs to describe liking different things. Like _suki_ or _daisuki_ …or _ai shiteru_.”

Mari chucked at that.

 _Why_ did she chuckle at that?

“Ah, I…I trust your familiar with that last term?”

“I suppose!” Mari readjusted her scarf over her face. “It’s just a romantic way of saying _I Love You_.”

What an unhelpful answer. Weren’t _all_ ways of saying that romantic? It seemed somewhat implicit in the phrase. And it didn’t explain Akko reacted so harshly to her. Or at least, it could, but not in any way that Diana wanted to be true.

“Yes, that’s…that’s what I thought. Thank you.”

“But it _is_ a highly effective word for when you want a really dramatic finale!” Mari enthused. “Having a character whisper it at just the perfect time makes for such a good shocking moment, when done right. Jeanne, you remember that show we watched, right in the final episode?”

“Oh yeaah!” Jeanne nodded. “You know, I never would’ve even noticed that until you pointed it out, I just read the subtitles.”

“But now you know, subs are superior. You just can’t get those powerful implications in French or English!”

Jeanne laughed. “Ahh, you really can’t just let that go, can you?”

Well, now Diana was just confused again. “Powerful how? What would be the contextual meaning?”

Mari placed a finger to her chin. “Hrmm! Jeanne, you remember that one J-Pop song?”

“Were they the ones who sung the ending to-?”

“No, this one wasn’t from anything. But they had that _one_ song, where _aishiteru_ was the final word. And she just repeats it, as the music fades out, and it’s the last word you hear…” Mari laid her hand over her chest and clenched her fist. “Tragic.”

Diana was emotionally invested now. She knelt down, trying to understand. “Well, is the term more tragic or more powerful? In your opinion? Because…because Akko and I were discussing it, and-”

Mari squinted at her. “You two were discussing ways to say _I Love You_ in her native language?”

Diana immediately bit down her lip.

“…H-hypothetically, of course! It’s as I said, we were simply discussing the proper forums to use these different words, not…not actually using them ourselves. And in any case, the specifics of this are unimportant, I’m only inquiring about the _grammatical_ portion!”

Mari was visibly frightened by the enormity of Diana’s diction. “R-right! Right. I was just…One would not imagine Kagari-senpai throwing around such a strong term.”

The words burned at her ears.

“…R-right. One would _never_ imagine…” She said, feeling a flash of frustration. Why was that so unimaginable? Neither Mari nor Jeanne knew Diana outside of her role as a prefect who gave them detention, and Akko was _always_ one for strong terms, wasn’t she? It would be completely-

She silenced that voice in her head as soon as it spoke up. This was _not_ the time to worry about feelings. She needed to know what the words meant, first and foremost.

Mari continued. “I suppose if it was a grammatical lesson, she might’ve brought it up as an example of what _not_ to say! It really is quite the rarity to hear, even when one listens for it.”

“…Right…?”

All the examples they gave, and yet it was a rare term. It was powerful, but also tragic, and…something lyrical? Dramatic? Akko blanched at the syllables, and yet the Green Team found her anxiety to be ridiculous.

If someone could just give her a straight answer here, she would _really_ appreciate it.

Jeanne looked at Mari. “Is that why she brought it up? I never figured Akko was the thoughtful type! I guess she’s just trying to look out for you.”

Suddenly, she remembered the night of the Venusian Eclipse. Akko, with tears of joy streaking down her cheeks, encouraging her. In spite of all Diana’s behavior, all her mistakes and all her unforgivable acts of negligence, she still wholeheartedly believed in her dreams. And in her.

What was that, if not love?

Diana shook the thoughts from her head. “W-well, that’s just… _politeness_ , Jeanne. It probably doesn’t signify anything.”

“That reminds me of why I learned Japanese to begin with,” Mari added. “I wanted to show any future ninjitsu teachers the depth of my devotion. Really, what shows devotion more than speaking with their favorite tongue?”

Diana’s mind reeled back to the very first time she mentioned learning Japanese. The pure joy in Akko’s expression had lulled Diana into an embarrassed silence. And hearing such excitement in her best friend’s voice made her feel like she had truly done something right. Like they were finally going to have another thing to share, together.

And what was that, if not love?

“I’m not here to discuss romantic theory,” She insisted. “N-not mine, at any rate. I just-”

“Oh, I know what you mean, Mari!” Jeanne agreed, as if Diana hadn’t spoken at all. “I don’t think anyone but the biggest historians could tell how accurate I’ve made this armor. It’s like the term labor of love, right? You don’t realize how it is until you just _do_ it!”

Akko insisted that this morning was the first time she had heard Diana laugh. No one else had ever commented on it. Or on the specific ways her speech changed, or how hopeless a romantic she could be, when she really felt vulnerable. No one else had ever paid so much attention to notice such miniscule details.

And what was. _That._ If not love?

Sweat dripped icily down Diana’s temples. “Ladies, your feelings really aren’t in question here,” She urged, attempting to keep her voice even. “If we could just get back on topic-”

Jeanne clapped her hands together. “Remember when you showed me the Japanese dub of that Jeanne d'Arc movie? When that one side character died, and his lover held him, and he just whispers _ai shiteru_ to her? My heart was totally like… _hrnngh_ , you know?”

“Y-yes, on that topic, if someone _did_ say it, would it mean-?”

Mari chuckled. “You could really get a sense of how much she had softened him. It’s as I said, that dub is superior.”

Amanda acted like she had regressed into some colder persona of herself, one that Akko had pulled her out of, allowing her to become a happier person. And it’s not like Amanda’s word could be trusted on how much Diana had changed or not, but everyone believed it. And even Diana believed it. She believed Akko had changed her life for the better.

But did Akko…? Did that…?

No! No, why was she letting these two distract her?

“Yes! Yes,” Diana tried to wrestle control back over the conversation. “There are indeed many nonverbal cues and languages of affection, absolutely agreed. But if we could _please_ discuss the proper use of the language, as I had asked previously. An improperly voiced glottal fricative leaves absolutely _no one_ breathless, after all, so if we could return to discussing the parts of language instead of the language itself, I think it would be greatly beneficial for all of us!”

Mari paused.

“…what in the world is a glottal fricative?”

Diana let out a heavy sigh. “Just…tell me something honestly. Songs, TV shows, finales? Why is every one of your examples something of fiction?”

Mari and Jeanne shared a look. And then Jeanne made a face at her, as if _she_ was supposed to know anything about Japanese.

“…Call it a cultural thing, I guess,” Mari said. “You hear it a lot more with fiction. In a language like this, sometimes the true depths of emotion are better left unsaid…such ambiguity is key!”

Slowly, Diana ran a hand through her hair. These two- they were so unassuming and so _very_ obnoxious. And all this had given her the exact opposite of the straight answer she asked for.

But, knowingly or not, they did give her answer. Because while she might not know _this_ culture or language, the Cavendish heiress did understand how culture and language worked.

She understood empty, fictional love. She had grown up with it. All her life, she had been told she was becoming a beautiful woman, she would be a credit to her family name, that she was the very _best_ , at this or at that, a thousand times in a thousand variations. Knowing even when she was a child, there was no real affection behind it. Said to her because they were expected to, and embodied by her because she was expected to.

 _Ai Shiteru_ must’ve referred to an empty love like that. It must have.

Akko’s reaction…suddenly made a bit more sense. If by some strange cultural term, she had told Akko she only liked her for her aesthetic beauty (like some sort of _body pillow!_ ), of course she would be pissed off.

She was very glad to be sitting down right now. The cement underneath her knees was not feeling as solid as it usually did. All this time, Akko had been saying it. Telling her how she felt. Not just in English, but in so many different tongues. The enormity of that realization was already a lot to take in on its own.

And Diana had just responded with the stupidest thing she could’ve possibly said. This…was a very textbook definition of an idiot’s faux pas.

She was _very_ not proud of herself right now.

“L-let’s talk about anything else but love, shall we…?”

Jeanne got up to her knees. “Are you good, Diana? I- I hope we didn’t give you a headache!”

Mari held up a gloved finger. “I learned an herbal recipe that’s supposed to help with that! They say it’s been passed down from real, ancient ninjitsu clans. I’ve been hoping to learn-”

“Mari!” Jeanne hissed. “You’re gonna get us in trouble!”

“Oh. Oh! Right! Sorry, my ninja way can sometimes turn me into… _someone else_.”

Right. It wasn’t at all like Akko, going from despising the ground she walked on to standing happily by her side, high above the Earth, knowing there was no one else she trusted so much to take down that Noir Rod, to share in her proudest moment.

Or like all the times when Akko came out and called Diana the smartest, the most attractive, the ideal witch, with literally, _literally_ , no provocation or expectation at all. Just…because it popped into her head, apparently.

“…so?” Mari cocked her head, watching as Diana turned redder, and redder. “Do you still need Japanese help, or…?”

Akko calling her laugh pretty.

Akko laying her head on her knee and smiling at her.

Akko gazing at where their hands joined and just… _knowing_.

Oh yes. Diana could feel the tips of her ears catch fire. She absolutely needed help. As she felt herself flush heavier and heavier, she realized she absolutely did not care for the _Cultural Society_ to see her like this. So she stood abruptly.

“I’m leaving. Please return to your dorms before too late, if you don’t mind. Thank you for your time.”

Mari blanched. “But I didn’t even explain what it-!”

It was far too late though. Diana was not listening. These ouiaboos had answered so many more questions than either of them would ever hopefully realize. They would be fine, upstanding witches someday yet.

Jeanne shrugged, her armor clinking noisily, before she leaned forward.

“Tell me more about ninja stars, Mari!”

~~

Diana just sort of meandered back to the main building. She spotted her friends through the cafeteria window, sitting together, having fun and joking around. Akko wasn’t there, and neither were many of the others, so it was just the Green Team, with Constanze this time.

She quietly slipped into the seat next to Jasminka, who smiled at her. Amanda gave a smug, tilt of her head, no doubt having noticed the fact that her face was _still_ so very red. Constanze looked up from the internal mechanism of her Stanbot for just long enough to greet her, before returning her tools to work.

“I…apologize, for my tone earlier.” Diana placed her hands in her lap. “And I want to thank you both for listening to my problems, in spite of how rude I acted. I appreciate what you’ve done, and I hope you can forgive me.”

Amanda popped a potato wedge into her mouth. “Jasna was right?”

“…Jasna was right.”

“Akko doesn’t hate you?”

Constanze looked up from her Stanbot incredulously.

“Akko doesn’t…hate me.”

Jasminka opened her hands to her, offering Mystery Candies. “Do you want one?”

Diana took a candy from her. She turned it over in her hand.

And then she inhaled through her nose, and just…very gracefully lowered herself face down onto the table. It was actually very artistically done. One could almost picture the little hearts coming off the top of her wavy tresses.

They were right, all along. And she knew Akko would almost assuredly forgive her. But that did not erase the stupid thing she did. Considering how much she had _agonized_ over impressing her girlfriend, spending night after night practicing saying the exact wrong thing to say, it kind of made the stupid worse.

But more importantly; Akko loved her. With just that thought, all her hope and optimism was restored. Akko loved her.

“Oof, Cavendish is goin’ through it,” Amanda said with a mouthful of food.

“Are you okay?” Jasminka asked.

“M’f _in_ e.” Diana’s voice cracked in a way that did not sound fine even in the slightest.

“I really want you to know, Di. There’s like…fifteen things I wanna call ya right now, and I’m holdin’ back _so_ much. It’s literally like a dam up in here, of just…the meanest insults. But I’m thinkin’ you clearly _know_ , so…”

Amanda would never see it, but just above the wooden table, Diana’s lips curled into a helpless grin. This was not any kind of friendship Diana had ever dreamed of wanting. Surrounded by the boundlessly uplifting presence of the Green Team, she was immensely grateful.

Still, she had to wonder. What _was_ Akko doing, right now…?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Patch Notes  
> • Lied about Chapter Count. Tweaked the ending as an apology (More gay)  
> • Added more linguistic jokes that only 5 people are going to think are funny  
> • Included additional incorrect conclusions for Diana to come to (she’s trying so hard you guys)


	3. Diana Gets Romanced

Akko’s pen glided across the page as she signed the bottom of the note.

She promptly passed it to Lotte, who gave it a quick double tap with her wand. Magic coursed through the very fibers of the sheet of paper. The three watched as it lifted out of her palm, folding and creasing itself until slowly, it became a simple, yet perfectly crafted, origami bird.

It flapped its paper wings impatiently, and wasted no time taking to the open skylight above. Silhouetted against the midday sun, it flew off above the academy grounds in search of its intended target. In spite of everything she was meant to be feeling, Akko found it incredibly cool.

“Oooh, puppet magic…!” Akko craned her neck. “I didn’t know we were allowed to send letters like that!”

“Sometimes,” Lotte pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, “in the name of the omelettes that are romantic encounters, we must break a few eggs.”

“...and anyway, that won’t take long to find her.” Barbara agreed. “She’s going to want to prepare the moment that letter gets to her. I’d say we have anywhere from a half hour to forty-five minutes, depending on how much she wants to gussy up.”

Akko hummed pensively. It seemed simultaneously too much time and not nearly enough. Their operation was now officially underway, and they had a ticking clock to boot. 

“Not that you’ll need it, of course!” That dreamlike haze returned startlingly easily to Lotte’s eyes. “This is your moment! And you know your part, right?”

“R-right,” Akko nodded. “I’m _sure_ I got everything memorized this time!”

“And you’re going to knock this out of the park, right?”

“Right!” Another nod. 

“And when Diana gets here, you’re going to charm her, woo her, and make her feel like the most sublime creature on earth, _right?_ ”

“Yeah!” Akko said with a third and final nod. “This is the one! Diana better watch out, because I’m about to be the absolute master of romance!”

“Yes! That’s the spirit! You got this, Akko!”

It would be only a matter of moments. Any minute now, the note Akko had poured her all her soul and wit into would find its way to Diana’s hands. And she in turn would find her way to Akko’s side, her curiosity piqued. They would meet, stealing away a moment from the world. And Diana would look at her...

And Diana would _look_ at her…

And that was as far as Akko’s train of thought took her before the locomotive derailed and flipped right over.

“...actually, you know what, guys?” Akko spun on her heel and quickly started towards the entryway. 

“Ohmigod, no. _No_. Akko, I swear to-!”

“No, it’s fine, Barbara!” Akko waved her off as she marched. “It’s just that I _just_ thought of a better way to phrase something! And honestly, I’m not sure that this place is the best place to do it in the _first_ place! But it’s totally fine! If I hurry, I’m sure I can catch that bird before it even gets to Diana! And really... _eh?_ ”

Her legs were definitely still moving, but she didn’t seem to be going anywhere. 

A glowing green treadmill had spawned below her boots, matching her speed perfectly. No matter how hard or how fast she walked, she could not make any headway.

“Eight. Times.” Barbara‘s wand crackled dangerously in her palm. “This is the _eighth time_ that you’ve tried to-!”

“It was seven!” Akko interrupted, steadily but fruitlessly trying to outpace the belt. “We _all_ agreed the candle thing was a stupid idea!”

“I did not wake up early just for you to give up, again!”

“I’m _not_ giving up!” Akko snapped around, until she was walking backwards. “I just think…maybe this is a weird place to do it?”

Currently, they were occupying what was Step 11 of Barbara and Lotte’s 3-Step-Plan. It was an adjacent wing of the Academy’s greenhouse, not far from the central chamber housing the Jennifer Tree. Sunlight filtered through both the glass and the somewhat dense foliage above their heads, shading the three of them. The natural, floral smells tickled her nostrils. 

It made for a calming atmosphere. For one person. The wing was small enough in its width that, had the planters not been in the way, a decently tall man could stretch out on the floor and come close to touching both walls. Standing face to face in here would leave _very_ little room for the holy spirit of magic, and that was definitely not a thought she considered _calming_.

“I get the whole witches and plants and tradition thing, but why are we here, and not a room that’s, you know... _bigger?_ ”

“You didn’t wanna do it in our room,” Lotte gently pointed out.

“I don’t want Sucy to walk in right in the middle!”

“Or _our_ dormitory,” Barbara added.

Akko crossed her arms into an X. “Too much! That’s a horrible idea! She _just_ said she loved me, and if we go into her room right after that, it’s gonna look...look a bit...a bit like- _gyack!_ ”

She had momentarily forgotten about the treadmill running below her. She hadn’t even noticed she was moving forward until she was already nose down on the floor.

Red-faced, for more reasons than one, she didn’t bother with Lotte’s attempts to help her up. And she didn’t get up on her own legs either. Instead, she somehow managed to roll over onto her back, where she then covered herself with her hands and, put simply, just let it all out.

“...it’s too _romantic!_ ” Akko wailed miserably. “I can’t _do_ this with her! I can’t explain all this Japanese stuff- I can barely say it to you two! How the heck am I supposed to give her an actual answer?!”

“Uhh, yeah?” Barbara arched a brow at her. “You know you’re _romancing_ her, right? The whole reason we’re helping you out?”

“Y-you’re not the one who has to _say_ it! You didn’t even hear her last night! She was just so nice and sweet about it and she tried so hard, and now I gotta put her down _and_ tell her that I do maybe kinda like her back? I’m not-! I can’t handle this!”

Lotte frowned. “I thought you were excited to be the...master of romance?”

Akko rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m excited to confess to Diana! But did you even _hear_ how many times I slipped into an accent last night? I feel like I’m forgetting how to even...English right now! If I do that in front of her, I think I’ll die!”

“The...um, tongue twisters you did were impressive? If it helps?”

Akko blinked. And then realized what exactly it was that Lotte overheard. And back under her hands her face went.

“Ugh...don’t make fun of me. Those were for English practice!”

Lotte held up her hands. “Really, it’s fine! That kind of thing is just...expected, I guess. I know there’s been days where _I’m_ too conscious of which language I’m in and I say something wrong in front of you and Sucy. It’s not like you’ve ever commented on it.”

She was right. Of course she was. But it didn’t make it less embarrassing for Akko to be making mistakes she conquered five years ago. It didn’t make the genuine sympathy ingrained across Lotte’s expression feel any less unearned. And it did not fill her with confidence.

What it did serve was to remind her that she was laying on a concrete floor, probably getting soil in her hair. It was far from the most impressive that she ever looked. And she seriously doubted Diana was going to be moved by it.

“...look,” Barbara started. “Obviously, Diana isn’t gonna make a big deal of your accent.”

“It’s not _about_ that.” Akko let out a sigh. “Trust me, I _know_ she’s not gonna make fun of me. It just...feels important to _me_ , that’s all.” She stared up at the glass ceiling. “Be honest, how uncomfortable do you think she’s gonna be, when she finds out the truth?”

Lotte’s silence spoke volumes. “W-well...it’s not like that’s on _you_ , is it?”

“It’s _my_ language she wants to learn. And it really made her excited to learn it, you know? I don’t think there’s ever been a boy, or a girl, or anyone who tried to do something like that for me. I dunno what romance is, I just wanna make her _happy_.”

It had been years since she felt so embarrassed of her own voice, and her own speaking skills. She couldn’t, and _wouldn’t_ admit it, not out loud. But there was a part of her that was...thrilled by what Diana (tried to) say. 

After all, here they were, ten paces from the Jennifer Tree. The first place they used magic together. One of the very first places they had ended up getting pissed at each other. They hadn’t known a thing about each other that day, and since then they had a laundry list of stupid arguments and probably not enough apologies.

It wasn’t where they met, but it was the start of a long, rocky, relationship. If Akko had been asked that day, she would’ve confidently said that Diana was never going to be on her list of friends.

And now, Diana (tried to) say she was in love. She knew Diana didn’t actually have a _clue_ what she actually said, and she knew Diana was definitely going to walk it back, but Akko could still feel herself smiling regardless.

She just hoped she wasn’t going to taint this thing they had. Not when it brought out that excitable, sillier side of Diana that was hidden from the world. Maybe her confession didn’t have to be _perfect,_ but in order to be the kind of girlfriend Diana deserved, and the kind Akko desperately wanted to believe she could be, she couldn’t let it be _wrong._

Barbara, looking away with a small pout, was holding a small stack of notecards in her direction.

Akko sat up and took the cards. “Whazzat?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea.” Barbara snapped. “But I just...I figured something like this might happen, so I made these last night.”

Akko flipped through the cards. There was quite a stack of them to go through, but slowly, as she read through the phrases and snippets written, her spirits lifted as it became clear what they were meant to be for. 

“Wait, is this like a cheat sheet for dating?”

“J-just…! Think of it like a guide! _You’re_ the one trying to confess to a _Cavendish_ , so this is probably the kind of thing you should’ve been saying the whole time.”

That explained why these cards were all so...eloquent. But then again, Diana was going out of her way to learn _her_ native tongue, so wasn’t it only right that Akko do the same? Dress it up a bit, actually bother to speak English _properly_ for once?

“You really made these for me…?”

“Obviously Diana is my _friend_ , and I wanna do something good for her. And...you know, if you’re serious about making her happy- because like me and Hannah tried to do that for like three years and then you came along and did in two months, b-but it’s really just-!”

Akko jumped to her feet with a small _hup_ and wasted no time in pulling the Englishwoman into a hug.

“Thank you, thank you! You’re a lifesaver! I’m so lucky to have friends like you guys!”

“F-friends…? But I…with how Hannah and I always…?”

Akko simply let her go and began reading Barbara’s work in much closer detail. “Wow, and these seem so thorough! A little hard to read, but I bet Diana’s gonna love these! She always seems to like sentimental things!”

Akko giggled lightly at her own joke. Bewilderment colored Barbara’s face, and she turned to Lotte, silently asking what she had just gotten herself roped into.

Lotte’s shoulders bounced up in a little shrug. “Welcome to the friend group, I guess?”

Barbara studied the two of them for a long moment. Whatever emotion she was feeling, it was unreadable and foreign to her.

“...I’ll never get you guys,” she decided. “But...but no more panicking or freaking out, _got it?_ ”

“Are you kidding me?” Akko enthused. “You just gave me all the answers! What could possibly trip me up now?”

~~

Sitting next to Diana, Amanda casually leaned back on the lip of the fountain. “Surprised you aren’t more confident with language. Seein’ as you’re the one who speaks Dragonese and all.”

Diana replied evenly. “I can read it. It’s quite impossible to _speak_ Dragonese, unless one had a 10-meter larynx. Accordingly, much of it is in the vibrato.”

“Yeah, well, how many’s that in _real people_ measurements?”

While Constanze began scribbling onto her chalkboard, Diana shook her head.

“...Either way, do you really think it’s wise to phrase my apology in Japanese? I don’t believe I have the skill level necessary to not...make a fool of myself.”

“Wow. Ignored. Anyway, _I_ don’t. But she’d probably think it’s cute enough. So do what you want, I guess.”

“What do you believe, Constanze? If I may ask for your input?”

Constanze grumbled, and quickly erased her chalkboard to begin writing again, having never even gotten the chance to show what she wrote. Diana reminded herself to slow it down in the future. Constanze could write fast, but it still took longer to write than to physically speak.

“ _Not a good idea_.” Constanze wrote. 

“My worry is that it would sound too condescending, considering what precisely it is I’m apologizing for. And...perhaps a bit culturally in-”

A small, paper bird, of all things, fluttered down and landed on her shoulder. With its apparent destination reached, the magic faded from the papercraft- _poof!_ \- and the whole thing fell dully into her lap.

“Woo, someone got mail.” Amanda leaned over nosily. 

“Indeed.” Disapproval laced Diana’s tone. “I do hope whoever sent this realizes it’s a misdemeanor for a reason.” 

“God. You could start an argument in an empty house, y’know that?”

Diana unfolded the note dryly. “You might as well throw a paper airplane. And really, who would be foolish enough to send one to…?”

...Ah.

That’s who.

Her eyes were wide by the time she read the name at the bottom of the page, written in that distinctive penmanship. It was like an immediate spell of lightheadedness hit her. The corners of her lips began to rise.

“...If anyone asks for me, please tell them I’m preoccupied for the rest of the day. Thank you so much for your help, Amanda, Constanze!”

“Wh- _Hey!_ Don’t go actin’ like I’m your secretary!”

She flashed a grateful smile at the two, which seemed to catch them off-guard. In her hastened stride back into the academy building, Diana resisted the insipidly girlish urge to hug the paper to her chest. But only just.

~~

Paper flew every which way as Akko rapidly flipped through the note cards, trying to absorb as much information as fast as humanly possible. Why were there so many words? She liked that Barbara covered all the bases, but _why were there so many words?_

“I can’t do this! I can barely even read this! I’m not even sure what cronyism means, or how the heck I’m supposed to use it in a confession, but-!”

“But think of how romantic it’s going to be!”

“Shut _up,_ Lotte!” Akko pressed her hands over her ears. “Stop, stop, stop!” 

Lotte swooned. “A poor maiden, feeling the pains of a slighted love. And then, just when all hope seems lost, her true love comes along to free her of her fears!”

True Love. _Aishiteru._

Akko was going to go feral.

Barbara leaned against the planter dryly. Was she mad at Diana being referred to as a poor maiden, or that the beads of sweat were cascading down Akko’s skin as if her forehead was melting? Akko wasn’t nearly enough in her right mind to say.

But Lotte was far too caught up in her fancies. She pulled Akko into a dreamlike tango, and her eyes could only be described as glittering.

“You’ll get to show her your soft, sensitive side! And…! If you think about it, today could be the start of you getting to _earn_ those tender words!”

“Earn it?!” Akko blanched. “Y-you don’t-! I…I can’t…!”

“Just think of it! It starts off as an accident, but slowly you both realize that it was the truth, manifesting itself from deep within her heart! She’ll hold you close, and someday, _someday_ , you’re both so comfortable that you’re even whispering those kinds of things to each other in private...sweet nicknames and I Love You’s, meant for your ears only…”

And to her credit, Akko _did_ think of it. She promptly forgot how to breathe.

“Wouldn’t that be so romantic, Barbara?” Lotte enthused, letting go of her roommate. “Imagine, someone learning your language just so they could say those kinds of things with integrity.”

Barbara squinted at her a moment. Then, she gasped excitedly. “Like in volume 312!”

“ _Exactly_ like in volume 312! That level of trust and intimacy...”

“The nicknames for each other, the way he constantly showers him with compliments and he just ignores all of them…”

“And yet…”

“And yet…”

“His internal monologues…” They both said in perfect unison.

Not even Hannah and Barbara spoke in perfect unison. It was genuinely nightmarish to behold.

“It really is the perfect thing for a fluffy, domestic AU.” Lotte sighed. “...you know, there’s so many cute nicknames in the Finnish localizations that you just don’t _get_ in the English versions. None of the translations have ever matched that level of soft and sweetness…”

Akko muttered under her breath. “I’m starting to feel like- operose? What the heck is an _operose_ \- like you two are only using this for NightFall research…”

“Edgar and Arthur do have the perfect romance every girl would want…”

“…Oh, Diana, _please_ be taking your time…” Akko begged to whatever deity would listen.

~~

Diana fretted in front of the mirror as much as she could stand. The letter essentially said “come as you are”, but if she was going to be seen, she was going to make it a point to _impress_.

The enchanted brushes fluffed her hair and took care of any lingering windswept looks, leaving her hands free to crispen up her uniform. She was trying to remember every compliment Akko ever gave to her appearance (of which, she was still coming to grips with, there were quite a few) and tailoring herself to that. She would leave nothing to chance.

Despite her nervousness, she struggled to keep a serious face. That giddy, helplessly lovesick feeling from last night kept creeping up on her. She pushed it to the back of her mind as best she could, refusing to let that part of her brain make a fool of her twice in a row.

And yet, that note was so delightfully vague, Diana couldn’t help but wonder. Akko sounded so composed and sure. It was so unlike her. At least it erased any lingering doubt that she was _upset_ with her.

She would find out when she got there, she decided. Had she covered all her bases? She was sure she had. She reached the door, and then promptly doubled back to her desk to grab a mint. Just to be safe.

All in all, the affair took about 10 minutes, leading to Hannah stopping her studying to stare at the back of her head as she went out and in and out again.

~~

“Just relax!” Lotte psyched her up. “Honestly, that’s the most important part. I don’t think there’s any way you could confess to Diana that _wouldn’t_ make her happy.”

“I’m sure I can think of a few ways…”

“Don’t be like that! Come on, think of the plan. When Diana gets here, what’s the first thing you say to her?”

“...Time to put the Bi in Bilingual?”

“That’s…not quite right, no.”

~~

Diana did not quite _call out_ , per se, because it would be rather disrespectful for a witch to crudely raise her voice whilst in the presence of the Jennifer Tree, but nonetheless, she did speak up just slightly, stepping gently among the plants.

“Akko? You’re...in here, correct? I received your letter. It said you wished to speak, so I’m here to...well, you know. Am I...too early, or-?”

From somewhere in the back of the greenhouse, someone unleased a shrill shriek.

Diana flinched. In a way, that was actually an illuminating answer.

~~

Akko scrambled to pick the cards back off the floor. She hadn’t even finished reading. It was not for lack of trying; the harder she tried concentrating, the more her eyes glazed over. But she _hadn’t finished reading_.

“Remember the plan!” Barbara hissed at her. “And don’t you _dare_ forget to enunciate step three!”

Lotte nodded. “Think of it like...a performance! You’re great at those!”

Diana was able to find them purely by the sound of Akko-related distress, which was either a sign of their closeness or a damning admission of their relationship, depending on who you asked. Akko only heard her walk in, too focused on getting all the cards back.

“Are you alright…?” 

“Just stubbed my toe!” Akko belted out as she stood back up, cards in hand. “Small room and everything, huh Diana? It’s...it’s uh…”

They both trailed off at the same time, as their eyes met. Framed by the plants and the natural glow of a greenhouse, Akko realized Barbara had been right, Diana had definitely taken some time to prepare. The lines of her uniform were crisper than Akko’s had been since the day she first picked hers up from the school office. Not to mention, and it was hard to say if it was her imagination or not, but she seemed to be wearing lip gloss.

But one thing was clear. She looked more pretty, more _intimidating_ than ever, even as the two both seemed to wait for the other to speak first. Was Diana actually as afraid to speak as _she_ was?

“We’ll just get out of your hair!” Lotte said, to no one in particular. She and Barbara _somehow_ snuck past Diana. “You two just have fun! We’ll make sure no one disturbed.”

(By that, of course, Barbara and Lotte meant that they were going to hide behind the entryway and watch.)

And yet, as soon as the two passed her, Diana’s expression shifted. From anxious and excited, her lips softed into such a tender smile, and a glint of something Akko couldn’t put a name to flashed in the blue of her eyes.

“So…” Her hand ran a line from the top of her wavy tresses down to the back of her neck. “…hi.”

Akko gawked at the motion. “H-hey! Hey...Diana.”

Her smile subtly grew. This girl was such a _sap_. The moment they were alone, the moment she felt safe letting her vulnerabilities show, she could look at someone like they were the light of the world. Akko couldn’t speak.

“I…missed you last night,” Diana admitted, casting her gaze to the side. “In all honesty, I likely should’ve just talked to you. But I didn’t feel right doing that, until I learned what it was that I said. It just took me longer than expected…”

Of course she, of all people, figured it out on her own. And if it saved Akko the awkward task of explaining, so much the better, because she actually hadn’t been kidding. She quite literally could not will her lips to move. 

That look...It reminded her of the way Diana had stared at her, that night in the _Last Wednesday Society_. Except Akko wasn’t even sure what she had possibly done to earn it this time. 

She gripped the cards tighter. Now or never. 

“Apologies if I’m a bit inarticulate.” The blush dusted Diana’s cheeks. “I’ve been doing some thinking about... _us._ Frankly, I’m realizing how foolish I acted, and I most definitely owe you _some_ form of apology, both for yesterday, but I-” 

In one even swing of her arm, Akko pressed her hand firmly down on Diana’s shoulder. 

“...salutations, girl.” Akko said saucily.

Diana’s eyes blankly flicked between the outstretched limb and Akko’s face. 

“What?”

“Salutations.” Akko continued, in a posh accent that couldn’t quite be called the Queen’s English. “I w-wish for us to be unambiguous with one another. In spite of our...slight towards each other, I shall speak from my heart, so that I can convey the truest of...”

As covertly as she could, she flicked up one of her cards behind Diana’s shoulder.

“...truths,” She read. “Now, allow me to conquer the silence that grips us, and show you how much my heart beats for you. Cast Spell. _Metamorphie Vestesse!_ ”

In a flash, Akko found herself dressed like a hunky guy from the cover of a romance novel. A big billowy shirt, draped over by an actual, real life capelet. The gaudy ensemble was paired with moon themed jewelry, fancy looking shorts and (added by Lotte just for the pun) a cute pair of Converse.

This was Step 2. She was actually totally nailing this. In the doorway, Barbara and Lotte looked like they were going to scream. 

Diana just cupped her hand over her mouth, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking. “Wh...what _is_ this…?”

“This? This is my answer to the question left unsaid! I can tell you’re a witch of culture as well. A witch, whomst deserves an answer that is as clever and composed as she!”

“Do the flower thing!” Barbara whispered encouragingly. “The flower thing!”

Akko beamed. “I want- I _desire_ to show you how much I care. And so…”

The young witch raised her wand, her eyebrow wriggling coquettishly. With unbound boldness, she tapped into her magic and cast the spell.

“ _Slonhon Deance!_ ”

And, right in front of Diana’s eyes, from the tip of Akko’s wand, was most definitely _not_ the beautiful bouquet of flowers, dazzling Diana with its colors, that she had spent two hours practicing to do right last night.

Rather, from the end of her magic wand _pbbbth_ ’d a few dead weeds and flecks of dirt, which popped into the air and proceeded to fall on their shoes.

“...That,” Akko bit her lower lip, “was supposed to be chrysanthemums…”

If dismay was a force, Barbara’s palm on her face could’ve reversed rivers. 

The two just stared at each other. Akko standing dumbly in a ridiculous outfit, and Diana’s fingers pressing into her cheeks. From the way her eyes wrinkled at the corner, it almost looked like she was…

Then she snorted. 

Diana Cavendish actually _snorted_.

“Oh my god!” Akko gasped. “Did you just-?”

“No!” Diana’s cheeks reddened. “I did no such thing!”

Akko’s voice must’ve raised more than a few octaves, she was so stupidly happy. “You _did!_ Why are you embarrassed? Your laugh is so _cute!_ ”

“P-preposterous!” 

Akko broke down into giggles. She couldn’t help herself. Diana snorted when she laughed. Hearing her laugh twice in two days was already exciting enough, but somehow, learning that filled her with more joy than she could contain in her tiny body.

“Wha...what in the world was this?” Diana struggled to keep her voice level. “Why did you…?”

“I-I mean I wasn’t kidding!” Akko caught her breath. “I really _was_ trying to do this whole _thing_ for you. We workshopped a whole routine, and we were gonna do this thing with spirits for a really cute lightshow, I really thought you’d like it!”

Barbara and Lotte were completely miffed.

But with every word, Diana fought a losing battle to bite down her own helpless smile. Akko could almost see the gears spinning in her head, just imagining being stuck in a small room with her doing all these old-fashioned methods of courting. 

“...you pronounced it wrong!” Diana choked out at last. “That’s why your spell misfired. You added a _su_ at the very end.”

“Oh.” Akko flushed. “Uhh, whoops? That’s…a bit of a…Japanese- And here I was going to correct _your_ mispronunciation.”

“Like so.” Diana took her own wand in hand. “ _Slonhon Deance._ ”

The plants nearest to the entryway abruptly expanded their leaves until they almost completely obscured the opening. Barbara cried out indignantly as the leaves brushed past her nose.

“Wh- hey!”

“Apologies, girls. I would like a moment of privacy, if you please.”

Barbara’s disappointed footsteps echoed as the two left the greenhouse. But not before Lotte, through a small gap in the leaves, silently wished Akko luck with a quick draw of finger guns. Bi solidarity at its finest. No one else could understand.

Which left just Akko and Diana. Alone, together, again. She turned to Akko and smirked. 

“...Truest of truths?”

“Don’t start. I was flailing! No one actually talks like this!”

“Well...I do.”

Akko snickered. “Oh yeah, I guess you do! I guess it doesn’t sound quite as nerdy when it’s in your voice!”

“I can’t believe you. I’m in English and you’re _still_ making fun of my accent?”

“A little?”

Diana stopped trying to hold herself back. She glowed with a silly grin, floating along with the feeling and letting it overtake her. She sounded breathless and satisfied. Akko couldn’t quite see for herself to make sure, but that same, dorky, sappy face that Diana had walked in with and hadn’t been able to shake off? 

She could feel herself making it too. And she blurted it out without even thinking.

“Ah, I really love you so much, Diana.”

She immediately pinched her eyes shut. _Idiot_.

But to her surprise, there was barely more than a second of hesitation in Diana’s response.

“And I...love you too,” She said, with a sunny little giggle a light blush. “And…on that note, I believe I still owe you an apology.”


End file.
